I've Seen Better Days
by HYPERIONgc
Summary: Beckett tries to avoid Castle seeing her sick. Castle seems to have problems taking a hint and decides to come over and take care of her. Set POST-ALWAYS, a few months down the road when everyone is back at the precinct and things are "normal" again.
1. Blame It On the Smorelettes

Kate leaned forward in her chair, propped her elbows on her desk and ran her fingers through her hair. Honestly, she just wanted to put her head down and go to sleep. Her stomach had been feeling off since Thursday and the weekend at Castle's hadn't helped. He's adorable when he cooks, but god help whoever has to eat his food. Smorelettes? Definitely didn't help her appetite; or lack thereof. A shiver ran through her and she shuddered pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. It was burning hot. _Great_, she thought. _I can't get sick. I don't get sick, it just doesn't happen._

"Yo Beckett," Esposito started but stopped midsentence when he saw her. "You feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, you look awful." Ryan added. Espo gave him a "look" and smacked his shoulder. "I-I mean you don't look 100%." He tried to correct himself. It was fine, she knew what he meant. She probably did look like hell. If that was true, she should probably clear out before Castle got in.

"I don't feel that great actually." Beckett stood up and grabbed her things. "I'm going to talk to Gates, I think I'm going to take a day." Ryan and Esposito nodded.

"We can hold down the fort for a day." Esposito reassured her. She tried to give them what she thought was her most appreciative smile. It probably looked more like she wanted to throw up.

As she moved past her desk a piercing pain struck her right between the eyebrows and she winced. Pressing her forefinger hard against the pain, she knocked on Gates' door.

"Come in." Gates voice came from inside. Kate pushed the door open and walked in.

"Sir," Kate said, "I think I need to take today off. Recuperate. I'm not feeling 100% today." Gates looked up from the paperwork she had in front of her and her eyebrows shot up, as if just noticing Beckett for the first time.

"I think that might be a good idea Detective." She waved her hand dismissively. "Go home." Kate furrowed her eyebrows. She had expected more of an argument. _What the hell do I look like? _She thought, thoroughly concerned now. She felt like she'd just been hit by a semi. Maybe that's what she looked like.

"Thank you, sir." Kate stepped out of the office, waved to Ryan and Esposito and hit the down arrow for the elevator. _Home_. She thought. Bed sounded like the perfect place to be right now.


	2. I Could Get Used to This

A glowing orange sliver of light cut through the blinds and slid across the curled up figure in bed.

"Hrggh.." Kate groaned and pulled the covers up over head. She rolled over until her back faced the window.

_Bzzzzzzzz_….

Kate winced.

_Bzzzzzzzz_….

There was an annoying vibrating noise coming from her bed side table. Her phone. _Ugh_… Kate carelessly flopped her hand out from underneath the mounds of blankets and pulled it up close so she could read the Call ID.

Castle.

…_Nope_. She thought. There is no way you're seeing me like this. She hit the Ignore button. Ryan and Esposito could fill him in. She would see him in the morning. After she felt a little better. _Better_ _**looking**_, she thought, tossing her phone back on her nightstand. _Now, back to sleep. _

….

…..

…

…..

….

…

_Bzzzz_….

Kate jumped and flipped the sheets off her face. _Oh my god, what now?_ She pressed her face into her hands and took a deep breath.

Text message. Rick Castle. Of course.

She slid her finger across the screen and keyed in her passcode.

**How are you feeling? **

She chuckled. He wasn't going to give it up until she talked to him; he's worse than a pit-bull on a pant leg. She typed in:

**I'm fine, just trying to get some sleep. Somebody's chocolate marshallow egg-trastrophe made me a little queasy **

Send.

He responded seconds later.

**Hey, that was an egg-stravaganza and they were delicious. I still preferred dessert ;) If the smorelettes made you feel sick I should make it up to you. Chicken noodle?**

Kate rolled her eyes.

**I don't think I can risk any more of your cooking :P**

A knock at the door came as soon as she hit the send button. She seriously considered not answering the door but whoever was there wasn't letting up. The knocking continued to get louder and more persistent.

"I'm coming! Hang on." Beckett paused as she passed her hall mirror and nearly choked. Her hair was sticking up all over the place and what little makeup had managed to stay on her face was smudged across her cheek. She tried her best to smooth her hair down and wiped at her face to get rid of any smears and smudges. Not a hell of a lot better, but at least she didn't look _worse_.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" She shouted as she unlocked the door and flung it open.

All she could see was a huge brown paper bag.

"Don't worry, it's takeout."

"Castle?" Kate said, "What are you doing here?"

Castle lowered his hand that had been holding up the takeout bag.

"I figured I owed you a 'Get Well' meal, since I destroyed your appetite with my weekend cooking." He walked inside and plunked the bag on the kitchen counter. Kate followed him, watching him unload a container labeled CK NDL, a pack of soda crackers, some ginger ale and a bottle of Smartwater.

"Castle, you really don't have to do this, I look really awful and I feel terrible…" She ran her fingers through her hair. Castle reached out and grabbed the sleeve of her top, pulling her closer to him.

"Kate," He said, kissing her forehead, "How long have I known you? We've been through a hell of a lot together; I think we can handle a sick day." Kate pressed her cheek against his chest and let herself listen to his heartbeat for a moment. Then she pulled away.

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" She smirked. He shook his head and pried the lid of the soup container.

"Sit down and get comfy. I brought Forbidden Planet." He grinned. The sofa was suddenly beckoning her and she dropped into a comfortable spot. Castle popped the Forbidden Planet DVD in and brought the soup over the coffee table. He grabbed a nearby blanket and carefully threw it over her. From the kitchen, he grabbed a box of Kleenex and brought it over to the coffee table as well. Kate watched him out of the corner of her eye.

_He's good at this._ She thought. _Uh oh, he's looking at me._ She pretended to be straightening out an edge of the blanket by her feet.

"I took care of Alexis a lot." He replied to the question she hadn't asked. _Damn his Jedi mind tricks._ He sat down next to her and hit the Play button on the remote control.

As the main titles for the film rolled Castle pulled the coffee table closer so she could reach her soup; if she was being completely honest she probably wouldn't have even eaten anything today. Why was it so hard for her to admit that part of her _enjoyed_ being taken care of? Probably because she'd taken care of herself for so long. Her stubborn streak was hard to tame, but as much as she hated to admit it, the past few months had been pretty fantastic. Probably too fantastic.

The first scene of Forbidden Planet began, and Kate sipped her chicken noodle soup from her spoon.

" '_When_ _do_ _we_ _get a D.C._ _fix_, _Jerry_?' – '_Half a minute_, _Skipper_. _Ship on course, sir...' "_

Castle leaned over and kissed her just above her left ear, through her hair. Suddenly she felt warm and it wasn't the soup or the blankets. She leaned closer against him and he draped his arm over her shoulders. _I could get used to this_. She was smiling. It was impossible to hide around him anymore. He made her feel like she was glowing from the inside out.

_I could definitely get used to this._


	3. Do You Remember?

**Thank you to everyone who has Favourited or put my story on Alert! This whole thing started as a Tumblr writing prompt from an Anon, so I'm glad you all like it! Please, please Review and let me know what you think. I'm writing for you, so keep me posted! I appreciate it!**

**Love you all!**

**xx**

There was something about the stillness of the moment that was particularly calming. The lights were off and the sun had hidden behind clouds and New York smog. Kate's apartment was perfectly quiet.

Castle had switched off Forbidden Planet a half an hour ago. Kate had fallen asleep somewhere between Adams confronting Morbius and Altaira declaring her love for Adams. She had curled up in the comfortable nook under his arm and he smiled as she sniffled. At least she was resting. Rick leaned back on the sofa and made himself more comfortable. It had definitely been an interesting few months. He reminisced to the night of Alexis's graduation. It was one of those moments that seemed like it happened just yesterday and forever ago at the same time.

The night had started bad, and got progressively worse at first. First, his plans with Beckett to have a John Woo marathon had obviously fallen through; Second, he had lost her. It didn't matter, because that night was all about Alexis. He put her out of sight and out of mind as Alexis got ready for her big speech. They took all the photos that his mother could possibly need and want, and they headed off to the school auditorium. Alexis's speech was perfect; he never doubted her for a second. _Writing great speeches runs in the family,_ he thought with a smirk; and then his brilliant daughter's speech made him remember what he had been trying to forget. His empty apartment reminded him how alone he was. A phone call to his daughter helped. He caringly hung her grad cap tassel on his office lamp.

_Bzzzz_….

_The phone call from Beckett._ He remembered. It came out of the blue. He couldn't think about that right now. His baby girl just graduated high school. He hit Ignore and reached for the remote; clicked on the touch screen and up came the fragments of her life. Bits and pieces of something that made no sense. Click. Drag. Delete.

Four raps on the front door –

Castle headed to the front hall and as his hand hit the doorknob he realized he hadn't ordered his dinner yet, so who could be –

…

"Beckett, what do you want?" He said. His voice sounded distant, like another person was talking. He didn't care. He hoped she noticed how upset he was. Had she come here to yell at him again? To accuse him of not being trustworthy when all he had ever done was try his best to look out for her? She stood there, dripping from the rain, before she finally said anything.

"You." It was barely a whisper.

Before he could move, or even _think_ – she had pushed past the half-open door. Her hands grabbed his neck and she pulled his face to hers. Their lips collided and all he could think was her. Beads of water ran from her skin to his, her lips on his lips, her hands running up his neck and holding his face close to hers…his hands were on her shoulders before he could stop himself…then his brain functions returned. He pulled back, gasping for breath. He couldn't move. He couldn't look up, he just stood there, hands limp at his sides as she held his shoulders, touched his face, pressed her forehead against his.

"I'm so sorry, Castle. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She whispered. Her fingers were fluttering across his throat, sending shivers all over his body. She pulled him in and kissed him again, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. Finally, he looked up at her. Her tears were the first thing he noticed. The anger he had felt earlier did a disappearing act. All that remained was concern.

"What happened?" He asked.

"He got away and I didn't care. I almost died and all I could think about was you." Her eyes found their way to his lips and they stayed there, "I just want you." She leaned in close again, and his breath hitched. She was so close, their lips grazed – he could feel her breath on his mouth and all he could think was, _This can't be real. This moment – this thing that I've been wanting and waiting for…her…all of this…_he could feel her waiting for him. She stopped herself, pulled back and looked right at him. It was every moment they ever shared, magnified. They had fallen so out of sync he had forgotten what it felt like to just really _be_ with her. Her finger gently touched the corner of his mouth and as the storm raged outside, Castle completely forgot what self control was.

He pushed her backwards until they slammed into what he could only assume was the door, his heart beating a furious rhythm. He pressed himself against her, and when they kissed this time there was no pulling away, no pausing. Her hands, _oh god_, her hands were everywhere, and she tasted delicious; cool rain and warm skin…he ran his mouth across her cheek, down her neck…if he had to work everyday of the rest of his life to get more of this, he would. He wanted more, he _needed_ more – he couldn't get enough of her at once. He grasped her face in both his hands and he ran his tongue over her lips, groaning as hers did the same. His hand ran down her neck, across her throat – he pushed her back against the door and kissed her harder, more desperately now. He couldn't get close enough to her, his entire body had pressed her flat against the door and she was pushing back. He wrapped his arms around her as her fingers met the back of his head and ran through his hair. He started his way down towards her collarbone, creating a trail of hot, open mouthed kisses from her jawline, slowly down her neck – he kissed her collarbone and down her chest. He backed away, slowly, remembering what happened that day – and the scar that hid just behind her button. Gingerly he undid one, then the other until he could see, just between the black lace of her bra, a perfectly circular bullet scar. He reached his hand forward, and noticed he was shaking; Kate's hands met his and she placed it gently over her scar. Her other hand came back up and pulled his face close to hers, and they kiss again, this time softer, slower, until they slowly pull apart. His eyes open and connect with hers. _She's smiling_, he noticed, and he reaches for her hand. She takes his, and silently, in her extraordinary, remarkable, challenging way, pulls him away from the front door and deeper inside the loft.


End file.
